IPD contract recommendations and best practice

Rapport, 2016

This report deals with the new aspects of and recommendations for participatory design process of structures, more specifically the applicability of the design and construction process called Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) on Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB) at mixed-use healthcare districts. The report as its whole sets a framework for IPD in EeB projects and answers the main question “Is IPD a suitable design process for EeB projects in Health Care Districts in EU?”.
Integrated Project Delivery is a design and construction process based on partnering that promises to deliver a better product faster. The main idea of IPD is to bring all key partners (owner, designer, builder, etc.) - that are desirable to adequately manage the project - to the design table as early as possible. While the main idea is to get the right people to the project, the two main components of IPD are shared risk and shared reward which are controlled by the so-called IPD-contracts. Today, there are standard contracts available from the American Institute of Architects.
The choice of design and construction process is made by the Client, who follows the public procurement regulations when asking for companies to realize an idea. In EU, public procurement is governed by the European directive on public procurement (Directive 2014/24/EU), which mainly states that the process should be open and transparent.
Some years ago a new type of energy service was introduced with the incentive to not only sell energy, but also earn money by saving energy; this type of company is called Energy Service Company (ESCo). These companies’ business was initially in the facility management area and not in the design of buildings. This created difficulties to make the most effective energy savings. Thereby, the current idea is to combine ESCo with IPD and establish an Integrated Energy Contract. An Integrated Energy Contract that is included in the early design stages would provide the Integrated Project Team with valuable design criteria and thereby the design will be coupled to the energy supply and use.
So, is IPD suitable for design of energy-efficient health care districts in EU? The answer given in this report is not concrete. The main reason for this is that the autonomous states of Europe have to a large extent very different working traditions in the early phases of design. In addition, the local procurement laws of the EU states are still divergent. Though, within the construction sector there is a strive for increasing the number of participatory design projects – a strive that makes contracts that ensure collaboration necessary, it is not appropriate to point out that Integrated Project Delivery implemented on an EU level is the main path to follow contractually.
However, the core elements of IPD, collaboration, early involvement of parties, sharing of risk and reward, and the use of ICT, are important for the construction of energy efficient health care districts and should be pursued. The main advantages of applying these core elements are betters product and quality.
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